Hanover, 28 September 2024: 27-year-old Angela Chan (Hong Kong/China) and 19-year-old Jacques Forestier (Canada) share the first prize of 30,000 euros of the Joseph Joachim Violin Competition 2024 in Hanover. Both impressed the international jury equally with their final concert and the world premiere of “Feder”, the commissioned work by Enno Poppe for the 2024 competition, and will now receive 15,000 euros each. The jury consisted of Juliane Banse (chair), Lorenza Borrani, Liza Ferschtman, Kim Kashkashian, András Keller, Gidon Kremer, Alexander Lonquich, Feng Ning, Kathrin Rabus and Stephan Zilias. The most outstanding three musicians of the competition, Kyumin Park, Angela Chan and Jacques Forestier, performed in the final. All three finalists received 10,000 euros each for reaching the final and can now call themselves “Laureates of the Joseph Joachim Violin Competition”. “We are delighted to be able to honour two young personalities with the main prize, combining technical perfection and charisma. I warmly congratulate Angela Chan and Jacques Forestier”, said Lavinia Francke, General Secretary of the organising Stiftung Niedersachsen, delighted. She added: “I would like to thank all 21 participants, all partners, the jury, the Artistic Directorship, Antje Weithaas and Oliver Wille, and everyone involved for their commitment and trust in the competition.”
A number of other prizes was also awarded at the ceremony in the Großer Sendesaal of the NDR Konzerthaus in Hanover: Warner Classics will record a debut album with Jacques Forestier and distribute and promote it worldwide. The G. Henle publishing house honoured Kyumin Park with sheet music vouchers and a monetary prize totalling 2,000 euros. The renowned composer Enno Poppe and the jury awarded the 5,000-euro prize for the best interpretation of his commissioned work “Feder” to Angela Chan. Jacques Forestier will be invited to play a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (1765) for the next three years, on loan from the Fritz Behrens Stiftung. The Kuss Quartet awarded the chamber music prize of 3,000 euros to semi-finalist Louisa Staples. The audience at the NDR Konzerthaus awarded Jacques Forestier the audience prize of 2,000 euros. 32 concert partners supported the competition and awarded concert engagements among the semi-finalists during the award ceremony. Louisa Staples received a scholarship from karsten witt music-management GmbH for a music management course at the kwmm Academy. Two participants will be invited to a masterclass at Kronberg Academy.
“There are many winners of the competition and this time even two main prize winners! We would like to thank all the participants from the bottom of our hearts for their courage, their commitment and for inspiring us with their wonderful music”, said Oliver Wille, Artistic Director of the competition. “Competitions can only ever be snapshots. Over the past two weeks, we have got to know up-and-coming young personalities and their great musical potential. We are delighted to be able to follow their future paths now”, said Antje Weithaas, Artistic Director of the competition.
The Joseph Joachim Violin Competition is organised by the Stiftung Niedersachsen in Hanover every three years. 2024 the competition took place from 16 to 28 September. In two preliminary rounds, 21 participants from nine countries played for the jury and thrilled the audience with their talent. Only eight violinists reached the two semi-final concerts with their musical challenges: Angela Chan, Jacques Forestier, Alexander Won-Ho Kim, Eunjoong Park, Kyumin Park, Louisa Staples, Alexandra Weissbecker und Xunyue Zhang. The most out-standing three musicians could now be seen in the final.
All competition concerts were streamed live on the website www.jjv-hanover.de and on Facebook in cooperation with The Violin Channel. They could also be experienced live in China via Amadeus TV. All competition performances are still available in the competition’s media library on YouTube. On 29 September 2024, NDR Kultur, the competition’s cultural partner, will broadcast the live recordings of all three final concerts starting at 21:30 in the series “Podium der Jungen”.
Overview of prizes and prizewinners:
- Joseph Joachim Prize (15,000 euros each): Angela Chan and Jacques Forestier
- Laureate Prize (10,000 euros each): Angela Chan, Jacques Forestier and Kyumin Park
- Best Interpretation of the Commissioned Work Prize (5,000 euros): Angela Chan
- Chamber Music Prize (3,000 euros): Louisa Staples
- Audience Prize (2,000 euros): Jacques Forestier
- Warner Classics Award (international marketing and distribution of debut album): Jacques Forestier
- Henle Urtext Prize (1,500 euros plus vouchers for Urtext sheet music editions in printed form amounting to 400 euros and in digital form amounting to 100 euros): Kyumin Park
- Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin (1765) (loaned by the Fritz Behrens Stiftung for three years): Jacques Forestier
- Scholarship from karsten witt musikmanagement GmbH for a music management course at the kwmm academy: Louisa Staples
- Two participants will be invited to a masterclass at Kronberg Academy.
The following concert partners also awarded concert engagements to:
| Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe | Jacques Forestier |
| Beethoven-Haus Bonn | Louisa Staples |
| Brandenburgische Sommerkonzerte | Alexander Won-Ho Kim |
| Bremer Philharmoniker | Jacques Forestier |
| Con Spirito – Das Leipziger Kammermusikfestival | Angela Chan |
| Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz | Louisa Staples |
| Duisburger Philharmoniker | Jacques Forestier |
| Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Jacques Forestier |
| Filharmonia Poznańska | Kyumin Park and Angela Chan |
| Heidelberger Frühling | Jacques Forestier |
| Kammerakademie Potsdam | Jacques Forestier |
| Kammermusikring Celle – Schlosstheater Celle | Jacques Forestier |
| Kölner Philharmonie/Köln Musik GmbH | Jacques Forestier |
| Konzerthaus Berlin | Angela Chan |
| Kultur Stadthagen | Jacques Forestier |
| MDR-Sinfonieorchester | Kyumin Park |
| NDR Radiophilharmonie | Jacques Forestier |
| NFM Orkiestra Leopoldinum | Jacques Forestier |
| Niedersächsisches Staatsorchester | Louisa Staples |
| Nürnberger Symphoniker | Alexander Won-Ho Kim |
| Philharmonisches Orchester des Staatstheaters Cottbus | Kyumin Park |
| Residentie Orkest Den Haag | Kyumin Park |
| Schaumburger Schlosskonzerte | Jacques Forestier |
| Schloss Elmau | Kyumin Park |
| Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker | Louisa Staples |
| Spannungen Heimbach | Kyumin Park |
| Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim | Louisa Staples |
| Svenska Kammarorkestern | Angela Chan |
| Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn | Jacques Forestier |
The Beethoven Festival Bonn, the Dresden Philharmonic and the Tonhalle Düsseldorf are still to announce their engagements.
Competition facts
Since 1991, the Stiftung Niedersachsen has been organising the Joseph Joachim Violin Competition every three years, named after the famous violinist, composer and pedagogue Joseph Joachim. Antje Weithaas and Oliver Wille have been the artistic directors and hosts of the competition since 2019. With the competition, they are giving curious young violinists the chance to showcase their instrumental excellence and to courageously demonstrate their individuality. The Joseph Joachim Violin Competition is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC).
Dates and venues 2024
Joseph Joachim Violin Competition took place from 16 to 28 September 2024 in Hanover/Germany. The preliminary and semi-final rounds took place at the “Richard Jakoby Saal” of the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media. Concert venue of the final was the “Großer Sendesaal” of the “NDR Konzerthaus” in Hanover.
All the competition concerts can be watched and listened to again on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/user/JosephJoachimTV
Participants 2024
21 young violinists from nine countries travelled to Hanover for the Joseph Joachim Violin Competition. The participants are from South Korea, Japan, China, Germany, Hungary, the USA, Canada, Russia and the UK. Nine participants currently live and study in Europe, seven of them in Germany. The average age was 22. Two participants are only 16 years old, the oldest participant is 31 years old.
Competition jury
The jury of the 2024 competition consisted of internationally renowned and distinguished personalities who brought very different perspectives and experiences from concert and musical life to their assessment: Soprano Juliane Banse chaired the jury and carried out the assessments together with violinists Lorenza Borrani, Feng Ning, Liza Ferschtman, András Keller (from the semi-final onwards), Gidon Kremer (final only) and Kathrin Rabus as well as violist Kim Kashkashian, pianist Alexander Lonquich (from the semi-final onwards) and conductor Stephan Zilias.
Artistic Directors: Antje Weithaas and Oliver Wille
Antje Weithaas, 1st prize winner of the first Joseph Joachim Violin Competition in 1991, has been the director since 2019. Today, she is one of the most internationally recognised violin virtuosos and a world-class violin teacher. As a soloist, Antje Weithaas works with the world’s most renowned orchestras. As an inspiring play-lead of play-conduct projects, she was responsible for the musical profile of the Camerata Bern for almost ten years as its artistic director. Her CD recordings are reference recordings and have met enthusiastic reactions, such as the complete recording of Beethoven’s violin sonatas with Dénes Várjon or the solo sonatas and partitas by Bach and Ysaÿe.
Oliver Wille continues the competition’s close cooperation with the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (HMTMH). He has been a professor of string chamber music there since 2011 and leads an internationally successful quartet class, among other projects. Since 2021, he has been the university’s Vice President and Commissioner for the Arts. As a founding member of the innovative, acclaimed Kuss Quartet, he has helped defining chamber music for more than 30 years. In addition to an international concert career, the Kuss Quartet has become known for its new concert formats. Oliver Wille has also been the artistic director of the Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker since 2015.
Partners
The Joseph Joachim Violin Competition brings together important institutions from Hanover and Lower Saxony’s musical life. The Stiftung Niedersachsen cooperates with the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the Fritz Behrens Stiftung, Warner Classics and the G. Henle publishing house, Kronberg Academy and karsten witt musik management GmbH. NDR Kultur is a cultural partner of the competition. In addition, more than 30 concert partnerships have been concluded with renowned festivals, orchestras and concert halls. The Violin Channel, The Strad and Amadeus TV will accompany the 2024 competition as media partners.
About Stiftung Niedersachsen
The Stiftung Niedersachsen has been committed to art, culture, science and education throughout the state since 1987. As a state cultural foundation, it strengthens the diversity of culture in Lower Saxony by supporting non-profit projects and helps to raise the profile of the cultural location. Each year, the foundation supports around 200 projects and is itself operationally active with funding programs.
